Fire-extinguisher for railway-cars



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Shet 1.

v P. SMITH.

FIRE EXTINGUISHER FOR RAILWAY CARS. No. 374,211. Patented Dec. 6, 1887.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

P. SMITH. y FIRE EXTINGUISHER FOR RAILWAY CARS.

Patented Dec. 6, 1887.

In fenllrf B Z: mJ'm i211 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PETER SMITH, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

FIRE-EXTINGUISHER FOR RAILWAY-CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 374,211, dated December6, 1887.

Application filed March 17, 1887. Serial No. 231,224.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, PETER SMITH, of Detroit, in the county of \Vayne andState of Michigan, have invented new and useful Improvements inFire-Extinguishers for Railway- Oars; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description there- I of, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of thisspeoification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in automaticfire-extinguishers for railroad-cars; and the invention consists in thepeculiar combinations and the construction, arrangement, and adaptationof parts, all as more fully hereinafter described and claimed.

My invention is fully illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure l is a sectional view of a railroad passenger-car provided with ahot-watercirculating heater of known construction and provided with myimprovements. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the automatic valve in thedischarge-pipe. Fig. 3 is a section through the automatic valve in thedischarge-pipe.

In Fig. 1, A is a circulating hot-water heater of known construction.

B is the expansion-drum, and O are the circulating hot-water pipes onthe floor of the car.

D is a closed tank, partly filled with a fireeXt-inguishing fluid agent,preferably water, to suit all the various objects I have in view.

This tank is provided with suitable means, as

E, for filling in the water or other fire-eXt-inguishing agent, and ithas a pipe, F, leading to an air-pump or to the air-brake system for thepurpose of filling the top of the tank above the fireextinguishingagent, with compressed air, and, if necessary, to prevent loss ofairpressure, a check-valve, G, is placed in said" pipe. Adischarge-pipe, H, leads from said tank into the flre chambcr of thestove or heater, so arranged that it will discharge the water from thetank into the fire under the pressure of the air in the tank andeffectually and quickly distribute it to instantly extinguish the fire.

The discharge-pipe H is provided with a valve, I, which automaticallycontrols said discharge-pipe and which is constructed as follows: Aglass disk, a, secured in any suitable manner in the opening of thediaphragm of an ordinary valve-case of the kind used in globe-valves,prevents the fluid from passing 5 5 pushes said rod upwardly in case ofthe crush ing in of one or both ends of the ear in a collision. A deviceof this nature is shown in the drawings, consisting of the horizontalsliding rods 6, which are attached to the front and rear ends of thecar, respectively, and carry wedges f, arranged to produce an upwarddisplacement of the rod d whenever one or both of the rods e aredisplaced longitudinally. On

top of the valve-case is secured a cylindrical neck, h, which terminatesin a dish-shaped rest, 2'. upon which a ball-weight, j, is supported.Four upwardly-curved levers, k, stationarily fulcrumed near their lowerends, are grouped around the weight j, and these levers terminate ininwardly-projecting toes Z,

which engage under a yoke, m, sleeved upon the neck It. This yoke haspivotally secured to it upon opposite sides the connecting-rods n, whichat their lower ends are similarly secured to a yoke, 0, secured upon theplunger 0. A spring, 19, is interposed between the yoke o and thevalve-case.

In case of a railroad-accident which produces an upsetting or abnormaltipping of the ear in any direction, the weight j, in being 0 displacedfrom its seat, bears against one of the curved levers k, causing it, bymeans of the connections described, to drive the plunger against theglass disk with suliicient force to break it, and thus open the passagethrough 5 the valve to the extinguishing fluid, which is now forcedunder pressure into the fire of the heater. The breaking of the glassdisk a by the plunger 0 requires but little force, as it will be seenthat the glass disk is under a con- :00

stant tension resulting from the pressure of the extinguishing fluidupon it, and,while it will easily withstand such pressure, it breaksinstantly at a comparatively slight blow from the plunger. It willfurther be noticed that this kind of valve obviates the use of anystuffing-boX, and therefore, when once adjusted, will remain permanentlyefficient.

The plun- 6o The ball-weight j may be inclosed in a suitable case toprevent tampering, and the glass disk is suitably secured in thevalve-case to form a perfect seal.

The tank D may be provided, if desired, with a pressure-gage forindicating the height of the extinguishing fluid therein.

J is a feed-pipe provided with a valve, K, by means of which water maybe forced from the tank D into the water-space or circulating hot-watersystem of the heater in case of a deficiency of the water therein. Thisconnection is, however, intended to form only a contingent means forsupplying the heater with water in addition to the ordinary meansprovided therefor.

The tank D is also provided with a suitable hose-connection, L, by meansof which the water in the tank may be used for fire-extinguishingpurposes through the medium of a flexible hose attached to saidconnection, sufficient airpressure being kept in the tank to produce astream of sufficient force to reach any portion of the car. Thishose-connection may be in the form ofa threaded faucet suitable forhoseconnection as well as for drawing off the water from the tank shouldoccasion require.

What I claim as my invention is 1. In a railway-car fire-extinguisher, afireextinguishing agent consisting of aclosed tank located near the topof the ear and arranged to contain a permanent charge of water or otherfireextinguishing agent under pressure, a discharge-pipe from said tankinto the firespace of the stove or heater, and a fragile seal in saidpipe to normally restrain the extinguishing agent, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a railway-car fire-extinguisher, a fireextinguishing agentconsisting of a closed tank located near the top of the car and arrangedto contain a permanent charge of water or other fire-extinguishing agentunder pressure, a discharge-pipe from said tank into the firespace ofthe stove or heater, afragile seal in said pipe, a breaker for breakingsaid seal automatically in case of accident to the car, and ahose-connection on said tank, all arranged substantially as described.

3. In arailway-car fire-extinguisher, a closed tank arranged to containa permanent charge of water or other fire-extinguishing agent nu derpressure, a discharge-pipe from said tank into the fire-space of thestove or heater, a

V fragile seal in said pipe, a breaker for automatically breaking saidseal in case of upsetting of the car, and a breaker for automaticallybreaking said seal in case of the crushing or telescoping of the car,all substantially as described.

4. Inarailway-carfire-extinguisher,aclosed tank arranged to contain acharge of water or other fire-extinguishing agent under pressure, aconnection between said tank and an airpump for maintaining a permanentair-pressbreaker operating in case of accident to the car toautomatically open said valve in case of upsetting or telescoping thecar, substantially as specified.

5. In a railwaycar fire extinguisher, the combination, with a hot watercirculating heater, of a closed tank-arranged to contain a permanentcharge of water under air-pressure, a discharge-pipe from said tank intothe fire-space of the heater, a valve in said pipe provided with abreaker for automatically opening it in case of accident to the car, ahose-connection on said tank, and a feed-connection between said tankand the hot-watercirculating system of the heater, substantially asdescribed.

6. In a railway car fire extinguisher, the combination, with afire-extinguishing device consisting of a closed tank arranged tocontain a permanent charge of water or other fire-extinguishing agentunder pressure and having a valve-controlled discharge-pipe into thefirespace of the stove or heater, of a glass seal or diaphragm in saidvalve covering the outletopening b. and a breaker for breaking saidseal, substantially as described.

7. In a railwaycar fire extinguisher, the combination, with afire-extinguishing device consisting of a closed tank arranged tocontain a permanent charge of a fire-extinguishing fluid under pressureand having a dischargepipe into the fire of the car-heater, of a casingin said discharge-pipe provided with a glass seal or diaphragm, amovable plunger arranged to break said glass seal, a device foractuating said plunger at the upsetting of the car by the displacementofa weight, and a device for actuating said plunger at the crushing inof one or both ends of the car by the displacement of horizontal rodssecured to the ends of the car and said weight and rods, substantiallyas described.

8. In a railway car fireextinguisher, the combination, with thecar-heater, of the tank D, the discharge-pipe H, the casing I, havingthe glass seal or diaphragm a, the movable plunger 0, the vertical rodd, the horizontal rods 6, and the wedges f, all arranged to 0peratesubstantially as described.

9. In a railway -car fire extinguisher, the combination, with theear-heater, of the tank D, the discharge-pipe H, the casing I, havingthe glass seal or diaphragm a, the movable -plunger c, the ballweight j,the seat i, the

curved levers 7c, the sliding yoke m, the connecting-rods a, and theyoke 0, all arranged to operate substantially as described.

10. In a railway car fire extinguisher, a valve controlling the exit ofthe fire-extinguishing agent, said valve having a glass seal, and amovable plunger arranged to break said seal by the crushing in of one orboth ends of the car, substantially as described.

PETER SMITH.

Witnesses:

H. S. SPRAGUE, E. J. SoULLY.

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